Sunflowers are one of the fastest growing plants. The scientific name is Helianthus annuus (Faucon, 2010). Sunflower is the main source of sunflower oil which is popular around the world. (Faucon, 2010)

Appearance of SunflowerThe plant is yellow in color and has orange red rays of petals (figure 1). They grow up 3 to 12 feet tall in rich soil. Sunflower needs 90 to 100 days from planting to maturity.("Sunflower appearance," 2008) The environmental condition where sunflower best grow is in the sunny condition and where it has a room to grow and to expand their roots("Sunflower appearance," 2008) . They should be planted 2 to 3 inches deep in light soil. The best time for planting Sunflower is in summer time and for the harvesting is summer time ("Sunflower appearance," 2008) . The temperature range 70 to 78°F is the best range for growing sunflower. The soil must be kept regularly moist ("Sunflower appearance," 2008).

Sunflower was first introduced to North America (Figure 2) and sunflower is the national flower of Russia( Figure 3) (Lerrene, 2010).. Sunflower is used by the Indians for food & oil. (Lerrene, 2010). Some countries where sunflower grow are: India, Europe, Russia, Mexico, Spain and North America. (Lerrene, 2010).

The main product which is made by sunflower plant is Sunflower oil (Lerrene, 2010). The Sunflower oil is one of the most popular cooking oil in the world. Sunflower oil is light in taste and supplies more Vitamin E than any other vegetable oil (Lerrene, 2010). There are three types of oil that are available; NuSun, Linoleic and high oleic sunflower oil (Lerrene, 2010). They change in oleic levels and each one proposes unique properties. (Lerrene, 2010)

Making the productThe making of Sunflower oil is almost done all around the world and the steps are outlined in figure 6. There are many processes that have to be done to the Sunflower plant to make it into refined Sunflower oil so we could use it. (Lerrene, 2010)

Step 1: Growing the Sunflower

Step 2:Harvesting

Step 3:Seed Preparation & cleaning

Step 4: Pressing the seed

Step 5:Refining

Step 6:Deodorization

Step 7: Packaging

The first step of making sunflower oil is you have the grown sunflower plant.

Sunflower then has to be harvested. Then you take out the sunflower from roots and then it’s taken to factory.

Seeds are cleaned from seed cleaner and remove the unnecessary materials.

Seeds are then press and squeeze most of the oil comes out.

To refine oil you need to use citric acid & temperatures around 250°F to eliminate the impurities from the oil.

Every vegetable oil has its own natural smell. So it’s necessary to remove the oil smell. The process is carried away at high temperature and adds open steam to maintain at high vacuum at this time all smells are purify off and carried away to barometric condenser through vacuum system.

The final sunflower oil is seal in the plastic jar and sold all around the world. Once the country receives the oil it is packaged and sold.

Figure 7 - Sunflower seeds contain lots of Vitamin E & its shows how Vitamin E are benefits for Us

Beneficial Impacts:

Figrure 8 Athlete with healthy bag of sunflower seeds

Sunflower oil is used almost all around the world. It is one of the best oil as it contains high levels of Vitamin E and tastes much lighter than vegetable oil ("Benefits of sunflower," 2009) . The oil contains both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and it is lower in saturated fat, making it a healthy cooking choice ("Benefits of sunflower," 2009) . The oil is used on skin to helps injury healing certain skin conditions. There is evidence signifying that the use of Sunflower oil in the diet might lower LDL (Low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol choice ("Benefits of sunflower," 2009). Sunflower seeds contain 3.9 g of fiber and they are important in keeping the digestive system performance properly. The high-fiber diet might lower the risk of heart disease. Both Men and Women can take fiber but for women they should consume between 21 to 25g of fiber per day choice ("Benefits of sunflower," 2009). For men they can consume between 30 to 38g of fiber per day. Sunflowers are also good sources of protein making the perfect snack for any athlete (Figure 8). Protein is very important for maintaining high energy levels as working out. Sunflower seeds effect of causing our liver to release glycogen, a form of sugar. Then in the bloodstream it gives an extra boost of energy.

Everything has positive and negative impact just like Sunflower. It is not always considered as well-balanced diet ("Re: sunflower oil...cancer," 2007) . The oil has polyunsaturated fatty acids which can react to the body by damaging arteries and oxidizing blood, and results can be heart disease or a stroke known as cardiovascular disease. The high blood pressure can occur when there is a high level of the polyunsaturated fats that is found in sunflower oil. The fat then builds up in the blood and set the arteries into a chronic state of high pressure and it can lead to kidney failure and further serious diseases. There is a high amount of Omega 6 linoleic acid that is contained in Sunflower oil ("Re: sunflower oil...cancer," 2007). When Omega 3 not neutralize with Omega 6 then it can make worse Hyperinsulinemia and it can lead to non-insulin-dependent diabetes. The Polyunsaturated is high in calories so therefore you should limit to 10 percent of daily calorie intake. Phoma is a common Sunflower disease (Figure 9). This disease causes the soil borne fungus (Mullally, 2010).. The infection is described near the large graze on the stem (Mullally, 2010).. The infection first starts on the leaf and then it follows the petiole toward the stalk (Mullally, 2010).. There is no fungicide treatment available for this Phoma black stem disease (Mullally, 2010).

Sunflower plant you can find worldwide, it is known as its beauty and main source of food. The main product that is made by Sunflower Plant is Sunflower Oil. It is a respected and healthy vegetable oil (Kleingartner, 2010). The best thing about Sunflower oil is that it contains Vitamin E. Every plant has benefit impact and Harmful impact. So for Beneficial impact is that Sunflower oil in the diet might lower LDL (Low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. For the harmful impact is that the sunflower oil has polyunsaturated fatty acid which can react to the body by damaging arteries and oxidizing blood, and results can be heart disease which is known as cardiovascular disease. The making of Sunflower oil is done all around the world. The first Sunflower plant was find first in North America.